Republican Mark Lamb Wins CD5 Race

Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb (R) has been confirmed as the winner of the Arizona 5th Congressional District race, making him one of the few Arizona Republicans who survived the blue onslaught on Tuesday.

The Results

Decision Desk HQ confirmed Lamb's victory over Democrat Elizabeth Lee with 51.50% of the vote, a slim lead over Lee's 48.50%, with 93% of the ballots counted.

The Hill noted that DDHQ had rated the 5th Congressional District a Likely Republican seat, but the winning numbers demonstrate how fragile that rating ended up being.

The remaining races in Districts 2 and 8 have yet to be called, but current tabulations by DDHQ show incumbent Representatives Eli Crane (R-AZ) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), respectively, ahead by equally slim margins of less than 3% as of this writing.

Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) was the only Republican to win with double digits.

Lamb's Campaign

Lamb received President Donald Trump's endorsement last November, who described him as "a MAGA Warrior" and spoke highly of Lamb's law enforcement background.

He was further highlighted at the April "Build the Red Wall" event hosted by Turning Point USA at Dream City Church in Phoenix, which President Trump attended and gave an address touching on foreign policy, immigration, and the midterm elections.

In May, the Arizona Republic publicized allegations of sexual impropriety by Lamb with several women, who alleged he had sent explicit messages and nude photographs to several women during and after his time as the county's top law enforcement officer.

His campaign called the allegations "false, misleading, and potentially defamatory."

Nevertheless, Lamb won the Republican primary in July over Daniel Keenan with 58.6%.

The Balance of Power So Far

Lamb is now the second confirmed Republican from Arizona to be in Washington come January, as Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), and Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) handily won their respective races, and will soon be joined by Dr. Amish Shah for CD1 and JoAnna Mendoza for CD6.